Nike is closing all of its stores in the US because of the coronavirus outbreak

KEY POINTS

• Nike is closing all of its stores in the U.S., along with other parts of the world, to try to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, the company said Sunday morning.
• Stores across the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand will close from Monday through March 27, the company said.

People walk by a Nike store in New York.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Nike is closing all of its stores in the U.S., along with other parts of the world, to try to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, the company said Sunday morning.

Its locations across the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand will close from Monday through March 27, the company said.

Workers will still be paid in full during this time off, a spokeswoman confirmed to CNBC.

Meantime, Nike is still keeping open its stores in South Korea, Japan, most of China and in "many other countries," the company said, based on daily assessments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nike joins a growing list of companies taking similar measures. Retailers including Patagonia, Apple, Warby Parker, Urban Outfitters, Glossier and Allbirds are shutting their stores in the U.S. Walmart and Lululemon are among the retailers that are limiting store hours. In Italy and France, all non-essential retail has been ordered to be shut down.

Nike had 384 retail stores in the U.S., including Converse and its outlet locations, at the end of 2019, according to SEC filings. Internationally, it had more than 750 locations.

There have been more than 156,000 cases of the new coronavirus reported globally, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, with at least 5,833 deaths.

Here is the full memo from Nike regarding the store closures:

The well-being of our teammates and consumers is our top priority so we have decided to close our stores in multiple countries around the world including in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand to limit the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). These closures will go into effect from Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 27. Customers can continue to shop on Nike.com and on our Nike apps. 

We are taking additional steps in other Nike-managed facilities, including the option to work from home, staggered work schedules, social distancing and additional safety and cleaning steps to help protect and support our teammates.

Our Nike-owned stores in South Korea, Japan, most of China and in many other countries are currently open and will continue their normal operations.